For some students, the beginning of this semester may mean the beginning of capstones, clinicals and portfolio reviews in preparation for graduation. Along the way, students may find themselves also seeking employment and transfer opportunities, while possibly feeling bittersweet about leaving Sinclair Community College. To assist, the Clarion spoke with Career Services Specialist Lindsay Tate about how students can go about putting their degree to use in the workforce, Advisor Karla Knepper about how students can successfully transfer to a university and Licensed Counselor Gwen Helton about how students can deal with feeling bittersweet about this chapter ending and another beginning.
Seeking employment
For students who are dealing with their last semester or wanting to find a job while at Sinclair Community College, Career Services is available to assist with building résumés, tips on how to get a job, and what steps you should take to get the career you desire after graduation.
Career Services Specialist Lindsay Tate said that she is available to help students with their job search, wherever that search may start.
“We focus a lot on figuring out what you want to do,” she said. “After you have found a major, we focus on getting you prepared for the workforce in that area.”
Tate said the office of Career Services has a lot of employer connections and with their help they can point you in the right direction with the right employer.
Career Services will help with preparing for an interview and how to answer specific questions, how to write a cover letter, how to create a professional résumé and what etiquette would be appropriate in certain situations, among others.
“We can help with anything,” she said. “We just want you to be ready for the workforce.”
With the goal of being prepared for the workforce in mind, Tate said that students who are 75 percent done with their degrees are eligible to register for Joblink, where students will be able to view career-related jobs after creating a résumé in Career Services to ensure that it is meeting industry standards.
Although a student must be 75 percent done with their degree to register on Joblink to get career-specific jobs, Joblink is available to all students and they can view positions that are open around the area and on campus at myinterfase.com/Sinclair/student.
With the site, a student’s résumé can be forwarded to employers of the student’s choice.
Joblink enables students to be eligible for interviews with employers that come to campus and it helps students get noticed by potential employers.
Tate also said for students in their last semester, or for those getting close to their last semester, it is advisable to get experience related to the major they are pursuing.
“Getting an internship, a co-op, volunteering, getting a part-time job in your field,” she said. “That’s the most important thing a student can do in order to be marketable before they graduate.”
Tate gave general tips about how to obtain a job, including networking, volunteering and preparing for interviews.
“You know you have always heard, ‘it’s not what you know, its who you know,’” she said. “Now its who knows you.’”
For students who want to improve their interviewing skills, interviewstream.com allows students to record themselves answering specific questions, then play it back to see if they have any nervous habits or if they want to check their body language.
Mock interviews with a staff member are also available; the staff member will ask questions and then give feedback on how to improve.
Tate said as a general rule with interviews, it is important to practice, prepare examples and think about what you might say before-hand. Researching the company is also important so you are not going in blind.
“A lot of companies are asking behavioral interview questions,” Tate said. “They ask you to tell a story in two minutes about a problem and how you solved it; because employers think what you have done in the past might be reflective of what you might do in the future.”
By preparing for these types of questions in advance, you are moving one step closer to success, according to Tate.
Tate said although you can prepare for the jobs you want, it is all about the experience you can get.
“Too many students wait until they graduate and then they are like: ‘oh I guess I should look for a job now’,” she said. “The planning should start one to two semesters before you are planning to graduate.”
Two job fairs will be happening this Spring Semester. One will be on Feb. 12 in the Great Hall of Building 12 for Life and Health Sciences from 1 to 4 p.m.; the second will be April 9 from 12 to 3 p.m. for all majors and industries.
“The best thing you can do before you graduate is to come and see our office.” Tate said. “It’s necessary and central to your job search — we are here to help and we’re free.”
For more information about Career Services, visit Sinclair.edu/services/career/ or call (937) 512-2772.
Feeling bittersweet
“The last semester of school can be bittersweet,” Helton said. “It is important to strike a balance between enjoying, planning and focusing.”
She said the last semester at Sinclair can feel bittersweet because students may feel excited about completing their program, but also scared about the next step.
“The fear that students face in their last semester in college often has to do with the unknown,” she said. “I tell students that the best thing to do when facing the unknown is to control what you can and let go of the rest.”
Helton said some students may lose focus in their last semester due to the excitement of being finished. However, it’s important to stay balanced.
“Keep your focus and keep your balance,” she said. “Break things up into small, manageable pieces and then do a little bit at a time so they can add up into that big completion of the project or whatever it is.”
She also said it’s important to avoid procrastination.
“I think that when people wait until the last minute, when they try to do everything at once, that’s when the stress comes,” she said.
Helton also advises students who have time left in their degree program to pace themselves.
“People run out of the gate at the beginning of the semester or a program and then they burn out,” she said. “I say pace yourself along the way. What kind of smaller goals along the way can they set, in addition to that final graduation step?”
Transfer information
Knepper said the first step in transferring is researching potential colleges. Upon doing so, students can be aware of transfer deadlines.
“Different schools are going to have different deadlines for transfer students than they are for their brand new students,” she said. “So they’re going to need to know what those deadlines are so they can meet them.”
In addition, she said students should also be aware of not only university entrance requirements, but specific program entrance requirements as well.
She also recommends students to see their advisor after choosing a transfer school, because they may be aware of what classes transfer better to different schools.
“We certainly don’t know all of the colleges requirements, but we can at least help them,” she said. “[For example], there’s a program that won’t transfer well to Wright State, but it transfers great to University of Cincinnati and we may know some of that stuff.”
She said it’s important for students to keep their eyes open to many different schools instead of only looking at one.
“There might be a better program for them for what they want to do at another college, so do research,” she said. “See if the degree that you’re going to get … is the degree that you want to get, and don’t be afraid to look at different options.”
Usually transfer students who are still taking classes will be required to send a copy of their transcript upon sending their application, then after completing classes.
Uselect, through transfer.org, is a website students can utilize to see if the classes they have taken at Sinclair will transfer to different schools in Ohio.
“They can look to see how their classes here would equate to that other school,” she said.
Knepper also said although it is advisable to look into transferring before a student’s last semester, it isn’t too late.
“Ask lots of questions and don’t be afraid to go back to the college, go back to the website, come back to see an advisor at Sinclair, and be patient because it is a complicated process. You may feel like it’s three steps forward, two steps back, because there’s lots of different variables,” she said. “Know that wherever you transfer, you’re not alone, there’s other people who have been there. There are people, both here and at that other school, who want to help you — you just have to find them. It’s definitely doable.”